High-performance concretes are exotic materials

Ceramics, glasses, and cements are synthetic, non-metallic, inorganic mater ials with somewhat similar physical, chemical, and mechanical properties. T heir preparation processes also show similarities. The ceramists consider t heir favorite materials as high-tech materials, but they often relegate cem ents and concretes to a low-tech position. Special concretes, however, can exhibit spectacular properties, which allows them to be ranked as high-tech (exotic) materials. Three examples are presented here: (i) very high stren gth cement-based materials, (ii) monolithic refractories, and (iii) cement- based products designed for trapping chemical and radioactive pollutants.